Shane Warne
Extending the
frontiers of leg-spin bowling
Born 13.09.1969
BOWLING (World
Cups 1996 & 1999)
Balls.....977
Maidens.....16
Runs.....624
Wickets.....32
Average.....19.50
Best.....4/29
Runs Per Over.....3.83
Catches…..2
One of the most charismatic spinners of all
time, the name Shane Warne spells magic. At his best he turned the ball
phenomenally, exercised great control - something not usually associated with
leg-spinners - and had a flipper that struck like a cobra. Though time and
shoulder injuries took their toll, Warne remained an inspirational character
who could turn the tide any day.
Having undergone a shoulder operation in 1998,
Warne injured it again when he fell heavily in December 2002. It seemed
doubtful that he would recuperate in time for the 2003 World Cup. He made a
rapid recovery, but there was mayhem on the eve of Australia's opening World
Cup tie. It was revealed that Warne had tested positive for the drugs hydrochlorothiazide
and amiloride in a test carried out by the Australian Sports Drug Agency
(ASDA). He returned home, his dream of another glorious World Cup campaign in
ruins. This was yet another twist in Warne's great career. Even so, he returned
to the fray after a one-year ban and continued to weave his magic spell. Sadly,
he was not destined to play another World Cup.
Warne embodied the revival of spin bowling in
the nineties and displayed that spinners - and leg-spinners in particular -
could be match-winners even in One-day cricket. Australia were runners-up and
then champions in the two World Cups that he has played. He was
man-of-the-match in two semi-finals and a final. He was the highest
wicket-taker - jointly with Kiwi Geoff Allott - in a single World Cup with 20
wickets in 1999, until Chaminda Vaas, Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath surpassed the
mark in 2003. Among spinners he was the leading wicket-taker in the World Cup
with 32 wickets at a superlative average of 19.50 and economy rate of 3.83.
These are his achievements in pure statistics. In terms of intangibles, the
positive impact that he had on Australian and world cricket is awesome.
When he played his first World Cup in 1996,
Warne was already hailed as one of the greatest. Though economical in the early
matches, he came into his own when he destroyed the Zimbabwean line-up. He beat
Andy Flower in the air and had him stumped by Ian Healy. He then had Craig Evans caught behind just as
the dashing batsman was beginning to repair the damage in the company of opener
Andrew Waller. Finally, he snapped up the last two wickets, having Stephen
Peall caught once again by Healy, and then rattling the timber behind Charlie
Lock. Warne finished with four for 34 off 9.3 overs. This brought him his first
man-of-the-match award of the World Cup.
Warne took two wickets in the high-scoring
quarter-final win over New Zealand. He dismissed centurion Chris Harris, and
Adam Parore. Warne also played his part as pinch hitter at no.4, smashing 24
runs off only 14 deliveries with 2 sixes and a four.
It was in the semi-final that Warne struck
decisive blows to carry his side to an unlikely victory. He caught opener
Courtney Browne off his own bowling with his very first delivery. But the West
Indies began cruising at 93 for one, and then 165 for two, needing just 208 to
win. Suddenly they went into a slump and Warne was the catalyst. Otis Gibson
was foxed by a Warne delivery, edging it to Healy. Warne then got his flipper
working to deadly effect. Jimmy Adams and Ian Bishop had no clue, both trapped
plumb in front of the stumps. Suddenly, the West Indies were 194 for eight.
They capsized soon after. Australia snatched victory by five runs, and Warne
took away the man-of-the-match trophy for his four for 36 in 9 overs.
It was a disappointing final for the Australians
as the inspired Sri Lankans lifted the Cup.
The opening tie in 1999 hardly posed any problem
as the Scots were brushed aside. Not surprisingly, they found Warne too
mesmeric and he took three for 39 off his 10 overs. Australia then ran into
trouble with two successive defeats, and Warne was unable to lift them. There
was respite against Bangladesh who found Warne difficult to score off.
It was vital to defeat the West Indies, and
Warne gave splendid support to Glenn McGrath. After the paceman had knocked off
the top of the Caribbean line-up on a seaming wicket, Warne turned his
attention to the later batsmen. He bowled Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and, as he
has done so often courtesy his flipper, trapped Curtly Ambrose and Reon King
leg-before. Warne returned with figures of 10-4-11-3 as the West Indies crashed
to 110 all out in 46.4 overs.
Australia qualified for the super-six stage, but
Warne took a back seat in the first two matches. In the closely fought last game
he broke a 95-run second-wicket stand between South Africans Herschelle Gibbs
and Daryll Cullinan, knocking off the bails of the latter. Immediately after,
he dismissed captain Hansie Cronje leg-before in trademark fashion, repelling
the Proteas charge. Warne continued to be thrifty in his 10-over stint of two
for 33.
This was just the warm-up. Shane Warne, the
champion leg-spinner, came alive as the tournament built up to a climax. He
showed what it actually means to rise to the occasion, and what really
separates the greats from the also-rans. He provided a splendid study on how to
will oneself on to lofty peaks and to motivate one’s team to exhilarating
heights. "Warne is a fast bowler in a spinner’s body", Michael Slater
once remarked.
The South African openers made a nonchalant
beginning, chasing Australia’s 213 in the semi-final. At 48, Warne deceived
Gibbs in the air and clean bowled him. Visibly pumped up now, he soon bowled
the left-handed Gary Kirsten behind his legs. Two balls later, Warne had Cronje
caught by Mark Waugh at slip, though television replays suggested that the ball
had gone off the unfortunate batsman’s boot. Cullinan was run out. Jacques
Kallis and Jonty Rhodes set about repairing the damage. After Rhodes fell,
Kallis carried on in the company of Shaun Pollock.
Warne had figures of 9-4-14-3 when he came on
for his last over. Kallis was dropped at long-off, and Warne was hit for 15
runs off the first five balls. But off the last delivery he had Kallis caught
in the covers by skipper Steve Waugh. It was now 175 for six. Warne finished
with four for 29. The drama continued to unfold, leading to the heart-stopping
tie in the 50th over. Australia advanced to the final. Warne was
man-of-the-match, having inspired his side to edge out an accomplished and
resolute adversary in a match that was balanced on a razor’s edge till the last
moment. Ian Chappell wrote in The Daily Telegraph: “Not since the days of
Dennis Lillee have I seen an Australian bowler inspire his team from a seemingly
hopeless situation.”
The Pakistan innings never took off in the
final, and Warne scythed through the middle. He bowled Ijaz Ahmed through the
gate, and had Moin Khan caught behind playing a lazy stroke for once. The
feisty Shahid Afridi was plumb leg-before, while skipper Wasim Akram holed out
to his opposite number Steve Waugh. Warne had figures of four for 33 off 9
overs as Pakistan tumbled to 132 all out in 39 overs. After the Australian batsmen
cantered to the meagre target, a jubilant Warne stepped forward on the Lord’s
balcony to accept yet another man-of-the-match award.
This was one of the high watermarks of his
illustrious career. Warne has been the pin-up boy of Australian cricket for several
years, an honour usually reserved for fast bowlers and dashing batsmen. He has
given a new lease of life to the art of leg-spin bowling, in the process
becoming the first bowler to capture a mind-boggling 700 wickets in Test
cricket. Often in the news for the wrong reasons, there can be no denying the
matchless skills that he is bestowed with nor the fighting qualities that he
has cultivated. Oozing with talent and inspirational beyond compare, Shane
Warne was forever re-inventing himself. Just when he was written off, the podgy
trickster reappeared in a new incarnation. There was a lot of guile left
beneath that naughty face.
(Author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted
on email singh_iv@hotmail.com).
The
Big Book of World Cup Cricket 1975-2011
ISBN
978-81-901668-4-3
Distributed
in India by Variety Book Depot, Connaught Place, New Delhi, Phones + 91 11
23417175, 23412567.
Available
in leading bookshops, and online on several websites.
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